Genesis
by Ryuutsu Seishin Hime no Argh
Summary: Trinity is Eve, a prisoner of the Matrix, living day to day in misery - until she meets Morpheus. On that night a bond between them will be forged, and events sets into motion that will change Trinity's life forever. (FINISHED)
1. TrinityEve

_A note from the Hime no Argh herself–_

  


Welcome to _Genesis,_ my first Matrix contribution. This is a test upload. It might be removed, revised, and reloaded (no pun intended) without warning. Depends on the response, I suppose. Well, let me know what you think if you feel like it. If you're reading this note, I assume you've already taken some interest in the story. Let's get the boring stuff out of the way...

  


Title: _Genesis_

  


Rating: PG-13. I consider this sort of borderline PG-13/R, but since we don't have a borderline rating I'll stick with PG-13. If you're under thirteen I strongly encourage you to hit the little back button. This story contains drug use, suicide contemplation, language, and blood. 

  


Disclaimer: I don't own _The Matrix _or any related characters and concepts. I wish I owned Keanu Reeves, though. :/

  


Summary: Long before Neo and The Matrix Trilogy, two extraordinary individuals–one still imprisoned in the Matrix, the other a freedom fighter in the real world–meet and find themselves together. Told from Trinity's point of view. 

  


And now for the fun stuff. Without further ado, I present... 

  


***

  


Genesis

  


***

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGON @ 11:27 PM 9.15.92

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 11:50 PM 9.15.92

  


redqueen: Is someone out there?

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 1:33 AM 9.16.92

  


redqueen: Help me.

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGOFF @ 4:13 AM 9.16.92

* * *

  


My name is...no, _was_ Eve. Note the 'was.' I'm sure you can figure it out.

  


His name is, was, and always will be Morpheus. At least to me. I don't know if he had a different name in the past life, and I don't particularly care. All I know is who he is today, in this life. In a way he's like my father, yet at the same time he isn't. Because even though he came before, we discovered life at the same time. We found ourselves together.

  


Fuck it, I'm too tired for this. I keep thinking there's something else I should be doing. I could take a guard shift, at least. But for months I've been compelled to put down these memories, and today I'm responding to that call. I don't know what's going to come out of this. Nothing at all, probably. Like I said, there are better things I could be doing with my time.

  


I just want to talk about it, that's all. Whether you should read this or not is really up to you.

  


By the way, you can call me Trinity.

* * *

  


The first thing I saw when I woke were the words I'd written on my computer screen. I read them and was filled with such a feeling of self-loathing that at that moment, I wanted to cut my own throat. 

  


"Is someone out there? Help me." I repeated the words aloud again and again, echoing a hateful chorus in my head. "Help me," I mocked myself. "Help this stupid bitch, this worthless piece of shit. Help her by putting a goddamn bullet through her head."

  


I'm not sure how long I went on like this. The sudden screeching of my alarm clock abruptly jolted me out of my self-torture. It was 5:30 am, and if I didn't get moving soon I was going to be late for work. I briefly considered throwing myself off the overpass on the way to my job.

  


Contemplations of suicide were soon forgotten as I washed my hair in the sink and pulled on a relatively clean business suit. The tendency to hurt myself had been coming and going for months now. I had a few small scars on my hands and wrists from times I'd been in reach of something sharp, but overall nothing too serious. I was still here, still living this pointless life, going through the motions each day and drug-induced, hallucinatory night. 

  


I looked at the drugs and floppy discs that littered my desk around the computer and had a sudden urge to sweep the whole mess into the garbage. I smiled at the thought and forced myself to turn away, knowing that tonight would see me out of my mind without the heroin and LSD that caused my depression and insomnia. It was a vicious cycle, and there was no way of breaking free.

  


I went to work.

  


"Eve, will you come here? I'd like you to take a look at this program. We've got a glitch and it's giving everyone in the department trouble."

  


"Sure, Mr. Tepper. Let me take a look."

  


I slid into the seat behind the desk of Pete Tepper, the manager of my department. Tapping perfunctorily at the keyboard, I made quick work of the glitch that the entire brain-dead department had been unable to figure out all morning. Tepper and I both knew that the only reason I was still stuck with him was because I bailed his ass out of every problem that came along.

  


"Thank you so much, Eve," Tepper whispered in my ear. I jumped slightly–I hadn't noticed him standing behind me. His hands slid over my shoulders and I heard him inhale the scent of my hair. "You are a godsend."

  


Did I mention the sexual harassment? No wonder Tepper was reluctant to let me move up the ladder.

  


"Are you okay, Eve? You seem tense." Tepper's fat hands with their hairy knuckles massaged my shoulders. My eyes fell upon the sharp, knife-shaped letter opener on his desk.

  


In an instant I had the letter opener in one hand and Tepper's wrist in the other. I plunged the blade into the underside of his wrist, through the soft tissue between the bones, slicing veins and releasing a rush of scarlet–the sight of the blood elated me, empowered me, as I whirled around and stabbed the opener into his throat–

  


"Eve?" Tepper squeezed my shoulders. I looked up into his perversely smiling face. His hand shifted, brushing dangerously close to my breast.

  


"I'm going to take my break, Mr. Tepper," I said firmly, standing and wriggling from his grasp. I gave the letter opener one last, yearning glance as I left his office. 

  


The day went on in the same vein as it started. Later Tepper tried to convince me to let him take me to dinner, but I told him I had a second job to get to and left. Not exactly a lie, though the kind of work I did as day wore into twilight's black oblivion was generally considered less-than-legal.

  


I got home, ascended the steps to my apartment, went inside and straight to the computer. Daffodil, my calico, meowed at me from her perch on top of the tower. I shooed her away from the equipment and slid into my seat, making room in the pile of discs and drugs for a keyboard. 

  


_By day, she is a mild-mannered programmer working for a respectable software company. By night, she is Super Hacker, fighting government and corporate evils._

  


"Hello, Trinity," I whispered to myself, my face lit by the monitor's emerald glow.

* * *

  


To be continued.


	2. The Message

_A note from the Hime no Argh herself–_

  


Reviews were far and widespread, but good, so here's the second chapter of _Genesis. _Chapters are going to go up fairly quickly so do keep checking. Thanks for reading!

  


***

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGON @ 9:43 PM 9.16.92

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 12:01 AM 9.17.92

  


redqueen: I know someone is out there. Help me, please.

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 3:17 AM 9.17.92

  


redqueen: I'm dying. Help me to live.

* * * 

  


Hacking circles were dead tonight. No new projects, no one around to appreciate Trinity's skill and prowess. After a while I gave up and let Trinity retreat to a deserted corner of cyberspace. 

  


I hate needles, but everyone knows intravenous injection is the quickest way to achieve the effects. I stabbed myself in the hollow of my elbow harder than was necessary and let the heroin flow through my veins. Almost immediately I began to feel hot; my pale skin developed a rosy glow. I threw off my jacket and blouse and lay on the floor in my skirt and bra, gulping down water in an attempt to relieve my parched mouth and throat. Nausea welled in my throat and I swallowed back a surge of bile, afraid of the possibility of being choked by my own vomit. Then the rush came and heat, dryness and nausea were forgotten in the throes of overwhelming euphoria. 

  


When I woke up the following morning I had a killer headache and couldn't remember anything that had happened after the heroin injection. I supposed I must have passed out when the euphoria wore off. I staggered to my feet and to the bathroom to gulp down six Advils. 

  


Daffodil twined around my legs, mewing piteously. With a surge of guilt I recalled that I hadn't fed or watered her the night before. Cradling the kitty in my arms and murmuring assurances, I made my way to the kitchen. The sight of two fat cockroaches in my cabinet didn't faze me; I reached unhesitatingly for the cat food bag and closed the cabinet door on the bugs. Once Daffodil had food and water in her bowls and was happily munching, I went back to my bedroom and glanced at the computer monitor.

  


"No!" I shrieked in sudden rage, snatching up my keyboard and flinging it across the room. More words on the screen under my alias, the Red Queen, Trinity! What the hell had I put down in that room in cyberspace for the entire world to see? Trinity, pleading for help; Trinity, made weak by her alter-ego, Eve!

  


I threw open my desk draw and snatched up the small knife, determined to punish myself for these transgressions, to kill Eve then and there so that she could never screw up Trinity again–but sudden movement caught my attention. Words. There were words, appearing on my screen as if written by an invisible hand. I dropped the knife and read, my face inches away from the monitor.

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGON

  


RECEIVED MESSAGE @ 9:24 AM 9.17.92

  


godofdreams: Hello Trinity.

  


God of dreams? This wasn't one of Trinity's disciples, nor a fellow hacker–at least, not any I knew. More words appeared on the screen.

  


godofdreams: I know you are dying. I want to help you live again.

  


I retrieved my keyboard–it had landed on the bed, fortunately, and was unharmed–and plugged it in. Sliding into my chair, I began furiously to type.

  


redqueen: Who are you and how do you know me?

  


godofdreams: I know all about you, Trinity.

  


redqueen: What do you want?

  


godofdreams: To save you.

  


redqueen: I don't need saving.

  


For quite some time there was no reply. I sat back in my chair and waited. Probably he'd given up; probably it was some sort of fluke, some idiot's idea of fun. Impulsively I reached for the monitor, intending to shut it off–but then a new message came, the words that would change my life forever.

  


godofdreams: Meet me at Alice's Mirror at midnight.

  


I stared at the words, feeling a sudden chill down my spine. This had to be someone I'd met before–otherwise how could he know that I frequented the nightclub called Alice's Mirror? There was only one problem with that idea–if I'd met him before, he wouldn't know about Trinity. Nor would he know of Eve if he'd heard of me in some hacker circle. I kept both of my lives carefully separated.

  


He could be dangerous. I knew this perfectly well. My curiosity, however, would not allow me to abandon the idea of meeting him for even a moment.

  


Hell, it was Saturday. There was going to be a party.

* * *

  


To be continued.


	3. Alice's Mirror

_A note from the Hime no Argh herself–_

  


Lots of thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed the last couple of chapters, it's very much appreciated. Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think.

  


***

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGON @ 10:00 PM 9.17.92

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 10:01 PM 9.17.92

  


redqueen: I'll be there.

  


UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGOFF @ 10:02 PM 9.17.92

* * * 

  


Alice's Mirror. 

  


Heavy techno beats. Dozens of bodies, jumping, twisting, moving to the rhythm. Lights blinding and dazzling your eyes. And drugs everywhere, drugs to entice all the senses. This was the Mirror.

  


I was wearing a black corset and the tightest pair of leather pants I could find. Eve, midnight prowler. Or some shit like that. Billy Yong, who ended our relationship when he put a bullet through his skull, always said I had a daytime persona and a nighttime persona. But tonight there was no hacking, no computers. Only Eve, wearing Trinity's personality like armor.

  


So it was with a certain level of confidence that I strolled into the club, looking around with a 'here I am' expression. No one looked back. God of dreams wasn't showing himself, not yet. I slid through the crowd, searching.

  


I saw a club regular, Julio, as he saw me. He grabbed my arm. I didn't like the appraising glance he gave me. "Looking good, Eve," he said smoothly, wrapping his arm around my waist and locking our hips together. "Wanna dance?"

  


"I'm meeting someone, Julio."

  


"Yeah? Your new lover?" He reached for my hand and slipped a pair of pills into my palm.

  


"I told you–"

  


"You're meeting someone and he's probably doing it too. Can't hit the club without the ex. Try it, babe."

  


He passed me a drink. The little pills slid easily down my throat. I felt the music pounding through my chest like a drum and moved away from Julio, melding into the throng of shifting, morphing bodies.

  


I caught the beat, and my body swayed serpentinely, one with the crowd and the music. My hands moved over my breasts, smoothing down the front of my torso to my thighs, raising into the air above my head. Someone brushed behind me. I grinded back into his–no, her–hips. She wrapped her arms around my waist and guided the motion, placing a kiss on the nape of my neck.

  


The confusion, the doubt, the shit of every day life was gone. I was gone too, lost in the dance. The music changed, thrusting a heavier beat. We changed to accommodate it with more bobbing, stomping, grinding. It was mindlessness, happiness. The woman behind me ran her hands through my black hair and murmured something sexy. I didn't know or care what. All that mattered was the moment.

  


Then the nausea welled inside of me again, faintness too, and I swooned, fighting a losing battle for consciousness. It was just lack of air. I shook off the girl's hands–she gave a moan of disappointment–and ran for the exit. 

  


I barely made it to the alley behind the club before I fell to my knees and threw up. There wasn't much to vomit; I hadn't eaten in days. I climbed shakily to my feet and fished in my purse for a cigarette and lighter. My head was still swimming, my hands shaking so hard I could barely hold the lighter. I stuck the cigarette between my teeth and tried, unsuccessfully, to light it.

"Shit." The lighter dropped from my trembling hands, skidding across the blacktop. I dropped to my hands and knees and scrambled after it. The lighter came to rest against the side of a brown shoe. A nice shoe made of shiny leather. The kind of shoe that'd get you mugged around here.

  


A brown hand reached down and picked up the lighter. I stared up, and up, and up into a pair of very reflective sunglasses.

  


"Hello, Trinity."

  


I liked the voice. Rich and warm, each word spoken with a sort of slow, precise deliberation. I stood and looked at him again. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and a bit heavyset, his skin a warm golden-brown. He wore a leather duster over a very stylish brown suit, and was as bald as an egg.

  


He flicked on the lighter and offered me the flame. I let him light the cigarette and took a long, slow drag, trying to calm the pounding of my heart. It was beating rapidly and there was a roaring in my ears that wouldn't go away.

  


"Who are you?" I asked breathlessly. "Are you the god of dreams?"

  


"Yes. My name is Morpheus."

  


"How do you..." I couldn't finish the sentence. My legs shook so hard they threatened to give way. My vision blurred. The cigarette dropped from my lips.

  


"Trinity?"

  


I heard the voice but could not make sense of it. "Fuck." The word came out in a half-sob. "Oh God, help me...someone help me..."

  


The world spun around me, and I fell into a pair of strong arms.

* * * 

  


I woke, and couldn't make sense of my surroundings. I was lying in a bed, the covers tucked to my chin, in the middle of a very average, unremarkable bedroom–_a hotel room,_ my groggy mind told me. Seated in a chair beside me, gazing quietly before him, was Morpheus.

  


"NO!" I shrieked, bolting upright out of the bed. Eve, the stupid bitch, she'd let me be caught! I would not be caged, not be raped, not be murdered by this man! 

  


Instantly he had my shoulders in a surprisingly strong grasp and pushed me flat on my back on the bed. I fought him wildly, bucking and kicking, scrabbling at his arms, and screaming all the time.

"Bitch! It's your fault, you let yourself be caught! Let me go! I'll kill you, dammit, _I'll kill you!"_

  


"Trinity!"

  


His voice, commanding and calming at once, cut through the madness. Slowly, slowly, I began to relax. I was sweating and shaking, my chest heaving as I gulped in air.

  


"Calm down, Trinity," Morpheus went on serenely, brushing hair away from my damp forehead. He continued to caress my forehead, smooth back my hair, as if I were a little girl who'd just woken from a nightmare. 

  


I turned onto my side away from him and began to cry. Morpheus rested his hand on my heaving shoulder and waited through my sobs.

  


"Are you calm now?" he asked me when I'd cried myself dry.

  


"Yes." I sat up. I was still dizzy and slightly nauseous, but the sensation was bearable. I hugged my knees to my chest.

  


"Who are you?"

  


Morpheus smiled. "You asked me that question already."

  


"I only know your name."

  


He nodded. "That is true. But you are not ready to learn more."

  


I rubbed my hand wearily over my eyes. "Then why am I here?"

  


"You fainted. You realize you are hurting yourself, do you not? Unless you stop, you'll die."

  


I checked the sudden urge to wrap my hands around my throat and choke Eve to death. "That wouldn't be so bad."

  


"Yes, it would." Morpheus gripped my chin and forced me to look at him. "You cannot die, Trinity. I need you to live."

  


"Why?"

  


"That is something I cannot explain." He let me go. "Not yet." 

  


"Then how can I trust you?" I asked bluntly.

  


Morpheus was silent. I waited, listening to the ticking of a clock on the wall.

  


"That is something you will have to decide for yourself," he said at last. "I must leave. Stay here and rest as long as you like. We will meet again."

  


I opened my mouth, but he added, as if reading my thoughts, "Don't worry about payment. It's been taken care of."

  


I watched this extraordinary man get up, leave, and close the door behind him, all with the sinking feeling that I would never see him again.

* * *

  


To be continued.


	4. Morpheus

_A note from the Hime no Argh herself–_

  


Thanks as always to those who are reading/reviewing, it's really appreciated. Hope you'll continue to do so. ^^ This is probably my favorite chapter out of the whole fic, hope you enjoy.

  


***

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGON @ 11:57 PM 10.2.92

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 11:58 PM 10.2.92

  


redqueen: I know you're out there. Please, help me.

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 12:02 AM 10.3.92

  


redqueen: Please.

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGOFF @ 1:36 AM 10.3.92

* * *

  


Days passed, then weeks. I didn't hear from Morpheus. 

Every day I went to work, and every night I went to the club or stayed home and joined hacker circles, all in the throes of a hallucinogenic drug-induced state. I became more self-destructive, carving little marks into my skin with a small razor. The pain distracted me from the crushing loneliness I'd felt since meeting Morpheus face-to-face. 

  


One night, I sat at home trying to choose from a veritable feast of drugs and cutting. At some point I glanced down and realized that I had carved, on the underside of my forearm, a jagged, bloody M.

  


I flipped out and underlined the M with a deep and long gash. For a moment there was only sharp, stinging, razor pain. Then the blood came in a rush so fast that within moments my arm was drenched in scarlet. Shrieking with delight, I ran to the bathroom for a roll of gauze. It became a race to see if I could stop the flow before I died of blood loss. Within moments the gauze was soaked, but I continued wrapping the wound and in a few minutes, no more blood soaked through. I was lucky I hadn't hit any big veins.

  


The weight of pain and horrible, soul-killing loneliness came over me again. I went back to my desk and picked up the razor, fully intending to kill myself this time. Then Daffodil butted against my legs. She was hungry.

  


I fed her. I returned to the computer. I logged on and typed blindly, a message of anguish and desperation.

  


"I know you're out there. Please help me. Please."

  


I waited more than an hour, but there was no reply. At last I shut the monitor off and flung myself into bed.

  


I was awakened some hours before dawn by the jangling of my phone.

  


"Yeah?"

  


"Hello, Trinity."

  


I bolted upright. "Morpheus!" 

  


"I'd like to meet with you again. The Sumer Hotel downtown. Can you make it?"

  


"Yes. Yes, I'll be there."

  


The phone went dead. I put the cradle down. A hotel again–briefly I wondered if he wanted sex, then decided I didn't care either way. I wanted to be with him, no matter what. I threw on a black leather ensemble that I would normally have worn to the club and headed downtown.

  


He met me outside the hotel. "Come with me."

  


"I thought..."

  


"Just a meeting place."

  


We walked, shoulder to shoulder, through the abandoned city streets. The sky was slowly beginning to lighten, but the workday had not yet started. I didn't speak and neither did he. It was enough, for me, just to be in his presence. Perhaps he felt the same.

  


After some time, however, I started to grow anxious, and the silence became unbearable. "You didn't contact me for so long."

  


"Yes, I know. I apologize. It wasn't safe."

  


"Why not?"

  


"You were watched."

  


"Watched?" Paranoia swept over me, acute and incisive. I had to look around to make sure we weren't being followed. "By whom?"

  


"Agents. Up until about a week ago they were keeping you under regular surveillance. Then they stopped. I believe they decided you were no longer a threat."

  


"I don't understand."

  


We stopped walking on a bridge high above the cold, broad river. Before I could pull away Morpheus had my wrist caught in his grip. He pushed the sleeve back, exposing the bandage around my forearm. 

  


"They probably think you are experiencing deluded fantasies and will kill yourself soon anyway." I watched him dazedly as he slowly drew his shades from his face, revealing warm brown eyes filled with something I had little experienced–compassion. His large hands unwrapped the gauze. "You're so close to the edge, Trinity. When will it end? How will it end?"

  


His fingers brushed over the M on my forearm. His brow furrowed as he looked at it, and he traced the mark with his thumb, slowly and gently. 

  


"D-don't." I realized I was trembling, and I tried to pull away. He held my arm gently but firmly in one hand, and the other he closed over the wound, as if he could absolve all the pain and suffering and loneliness associated with it.

  


He watched me levelly, with no pity in his eyes, only empathy. I realized there were tears streaming down my cheeks and covered my eyes with my hand, intensely ashamed.

  


"I need you, Trinity." Morpheus's voice was a low, comforting murmur.

  


"Why?" I half-sobbed the word.

  


He caressed my forearm gently. "Because you know pain, Trinity. Because you know anguish. This is why you are exactly the sort of person I need by my side. There are many others, all perfectly willing–but they are bright-eyed, hopeful innocents. None of them have suffered as you have suffered. Thus they lack the apathy needed to perform effectively in this war, to destroy friend and foe alike for the sake of the greater good. They also lack the compassion–the humanity–to know what lines cannot be crossed for the sake of anything."

I rubbed my eyes furiously to dispel the tears. "What are you saying? You need me to fight a war for you?"

  


"In a sense, yes, that is what I'm saying," he replied quietly. "But there is more to it than that, Trinity. Whether or not you believe me, I genuinely want to help you. I want to save you from this world. I want you to live."

  


"But I want to die," I told him flatly. The edge of the bridge called to me. It would be so easily to just leap off the side and fall into oblivion.

  


Morpheus tightened his grip on my arm. "No, you don't. You only think you do because you see yourself as weak and incapable. But you have the potential to become an incredibly strong person, Trinity."

  


Desperately I tried to explain it to him. "It's Eve, don't you see? I have to kill her. She's the one holding me back."

  


Morpheus cupped my chin, gazing into my eyes. "Trinity and Eve are not separate entities. They are one. _You_ are one. You think the part of you that feels pain is something that can be simply made to go away, but you're wrong." He let go of me and turned toward the edge of the bridge, gazing out at the water. "I was like you once. Alone, afraid, hating myself. That was before I learned that weakness is not a sin. It is an asset, because without weakness to limit us, we cannot find our true strength."

  


"Ridiculous," I said flatly.

  


He smiled at me. "You will see, one day, that I am right. Now come with me. I'm going to tell you about the Matrix."

* * *

  


To be continued.


	5. Variations of Reality

_A note from the Hime no Argh herself–_

  


Lots more thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. The reviews are great–I love reading your comments. Please do keep them coming. ;) Here's the next chapter for you, enjoy.

  


***

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGON @ 2:38 PM 10.6.92

  


SENT MESSAGE @ 2:38 PM 10.6.92

  


redqueen: I killed him and I don't know what to do.

* * *

  


We returned to the hotel and he told me about it.

  


The Matrix.

  


How can I possibly express how it feels to know that the world you've lived in since the moment of your birth is a lie? How can I convey the incredulity, the disbelief, the instinct to deny the truth? It's something that can't be put into words. Perhaps you'll understand, and perhaps you won't, why I denied to the core of my soul all that Morpheus told me.

  


"It's the truth," was his calm reply to everything I said. He spoke with such assurance, knowing fully that he was right, knowing, even then, that I would come to believe him. He is quite an extraordinary man. Back then, of course, I did not appreciate this. I was too preoccupied with attempting to disprove him. It was a lie, it had to be, because if it wasn't then all the suffering I'd experienced to provide machines with energy made my life worse than worthless. 

  


"It's a lie. I don't believe it. I won't. It can't be true."

  


We had gone through this routine about twenty times already.

  


Morpheus sighed and rose from his seat. "I can only offer you the truth, Trinity. I cannot make you believe it. That you must do on your own."

  


"Are you going?" I asked, briefly forgetting the Matrix in the prospect of being alone once more.

  


"Yes," he said quietly, "I must. It isn't safe for me to say long inside the Matrix." He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. "Go home now, and think about what I have said. Tell no one what you have heard, understand? We will meet again very soon. When we do, I will offer you a choice."

  


"What choice?"

  


"The choice between continuing to sleep...and awakening."

* * *

  


I called in sick to work that morning. And the next.

  


On the third day I went, feeling detached from everyone and everything. I had not taken anything or cut myself since speaking with Morpheus. Shock was compensation for pain or a drug rush.

  


Elaine, who worked in the cubicle next to me, peered over the barrier.

  


"You okay, Eve? You don't look so good."

  


I looked at her. She wasn't real. None of this was real.

  


"Eve?"

  


"I'm fine." I went back to my work.

  


"Eve, would you step into my office, please?" Mr. Tepper asked later.

  


I went, wondering why I was here, passing through another day so normally. Nothing was normal. Not anymore.

  


"...Been with this company quite some time." Tepper, I realized, was speaking. "I'd like to see you make the most of your career, but considering your recent display of psychological issues–"

  


My mind abruptly registered what he'd said. "What?"

  


Tepper grasped my hand in his pudgy fist and turned my arm to expose the jagged, red M and its underlining gash. I stared dully at the marks, unaware that my sleeve hadn't quite been concealing them. Tepper caressed the M, but his touch wasn't comforting as Morpheus's had been. It was dirty. I hated it.

  


"You're a beautiful woman, Eve. I hate to see you maiming yourself like this. I can help you." His hand strayed up my arm and came to rest on my shoulder. I shuddered instinctively. "Don't be scared."

  


This was it, I decided. I was done. "I'm leaving and I won't be back, Mr. Tepper. Goodbye."

  


His hand on my shoulder tightened, pulling my close to him. "Don't go now, Eve." His face was close to mine. I could smell his foul breath. His pudgy hand slid down my back, straying far too low.

  


I wrenched away from him with a cry of disgust, but he was quicker than I'd anticipated. He grabbed my wrists, shoved me around, and slammed me flat on his desk. As he leaned over me and pressed his lips to mine, I freed a hand and groped desperately over the surface of his desk–

  


My fingers found the letter opener.

* * *

  


I went home and went straight to the computer. I tapped furiously at the keyboard.

  


"I killed him and I don't know what to do."

  


I might have written more, but decided the message was clear enough. I sat back and waited, staring at the blood from my fingers that stained the keys.

  


I waited for a half hour. There was no reply. I got up and threw myself into the shower. Blood washed from my hands and streamed down the drain. The water was scalding, but it felt good. I was so cold.

  


When I was done I put on the first clothes I spotted–jeans and a white tank and combat boots–and went back to the computer. There was a message.

  


godofdreams: Meet me under the overpass on Route 23 at 4:00 pm. 

  


I looked at my watch. It was 3:45. 

  


I tore out of my apartment and to the bridge, breaking about a dozen speeding laws. Most of Route 23 was deserted, closed for construction. I parked my car near the overpass and dashed down the long slope to the road below.

  


I spotted Morpheus waiting patiently in the shadows. "I killed him," I said breathlessly by way of greeting.

  


He turned and asked levelly, "Who?"

  


"My boss." I was trembling, still recalling the feel of the blade sliding into his neck, cutting tissue and veins as I had fantasized. "He was–he tried to rape me. They'll know it was me, Morpheus. I was the last person anyone saw go into his office. There's blood everywhere–my fingerprints on the letter opener. I got out by the fire escape."

  


He grimaced, looking off to the side for a moment. I could tell he was doing some quick thinking. "It is sooner than I anticipated, but it's time to pull you out. I cannot risk you being taken into custody."

  


"I'm sorry. I was careless, I..." I couldn't go on. The weight of what I had done was dawning on me. I had murdered a man. 

  


"You did only what you had to for your protection," Morpheus said quietly. "You are not to be blamed." He nodded toward my car. "We must go somewhere private. May I drive your car?"

  


"Of course–the keys are in the ignition–" I started toward the car, but Morpheus gripped my arm suddenly to stop me.

  


"What is it?" I asked, glancing back at him, but he wasn't looking at me.

  


He was gazing at the two men dressed in business suits and sunglasses, making their way toward us. "Get behind me," Morpheus ordered me quietly. "Now."

  


"Who are they?" I whispered as I obeyed.

"Agents."

  


I could tell from the way he said the word that we were in trouble.

* * *

  


To be continued.


	6. Salvation

_A note from the Hime no Argh herself–_

  


Well, this is it–the last chapter of Genesis! I want to thank everyone who has read and given their feedback, it's been greatly appreciated. Please look for Genesis Part II, the sequel/continuation of Genesis, coming in a couple of weeks. Thanks again, and enjoy!

  


***

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGON @ UNKNOWN TIME/DATE

  


SENT MESSAGE @ UNKNOWN TIME/DATE

  


redqueen: Before everything, there was him. He was my salvation.

  


## UNAUTHORIZED USER LOGOFF @ UNKNOWN TIME/DATE

* * *

  


"Get the woman," the taller of the two agents ordered his companion, nodding toward me. He then focused on Morpheus. "I'll take care of him."

  


"Stay by my side and stay out of this, no matter what," Morpheus murmured to me. "I don't know whether or not they intend to kill you, but I will protect you."

  


One of the agents turned his head from side to side, cricking his neck. The two faced Morpheus, squaring shoulders, shaking out arms. They looked tough, but I wasn't very afraid. Morpheus said he would protect me, and I believed him.

  


Then the agents rushed at Morpheus, and all else was forgotten as I tried to follow the action. The three traded blocks, blows, kicks, and punches at lightning speed, so fast that their limbs were a blur of movement. The agents circled around Morpheus, surrounding him, lashing out with fists and feet. Morpheus ducked, swerved, blocked–anything to prevent contact. The agents each landed a punch one after the other on his torso and Morpheus grimaced in pain. It was obvious who had the upper hand here. 

  


I wanted to help, but Morpheus had told me to stay out of the fight. I also wasn't so stupid as to believe that I was in the same league as these three men. 

  


Morpheus reached beneath his coat and whipped out a handgun, aiming it at the head of the nearest agent–but a kick from the other landed on his wrist, and the gun snapped out of his hand and went skittering across the pavement. While Morpheus engaged the agents in furious hand-to-hand combat again, I dove for the gun. Here, at least, was something I could do.

  


But before I could touch the handle, a hand picked the gun off of the ground. I looked up into the face of a beautiful, dark-skinned young woman. "This won't help," she told me with a smile, pocketing the gun. "Not against them."

  


I watched, open-mouthed, as more leather-clad individuals, all of whom seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, entered the fight, distracting the agents from Morpheus. He risked a glance toward me and I saw his eyes widen as they focused on my new companion.

  


"Niobe!"

  


The woman grinned at him as she pulled me to my feet. "Finally decided to play Messiah, Morpheus?"

  


Morpheus nodded, stepping away from the fight. "I've found the one I need. I can't lose her."

  


"Then go." Niobe gave me a shove toward Morpheus. I stumbled and practically fell into his arms. "She'll do," the woman added wryly. "Run. Now. We'll distract them."

  


Morpheus smiled at her. "Thank you, Niobe." He gripped my arm and towed me away, up the slope to my car on the overpass above.

  


"Are they going to be all right?" I demanded.

  


"I hope so," was the quiet reply.

  


I was ordered to take the passenger seat, and did. Morpheus slid into the driver's seat, revving the engine to life. Tires screeched and rubber burned as we rocketed away.

* * *

  


"What did that woman mean when she said 'finally decided to play Messiah'?" I asked Morpheus as merged with rush hour traffic on the freeway.

  


Morpheus was silent, tapping aimlessly on the wheel.

  


"Morpheus?"

  


He blinked and glanced sidelong at me. "In the real world, Trinity, I am the captain of a ship called the _Nebuchadnezzar._ I was given this assignment months ago and told to find a crew. I have not yet done so."

  


"Why?"

  


"Because I could not find the right person with which to begin building my crew. Now I have."

  


I stared out the window and watched the world, a digital world, fly by. "You say everything with such confidence, Morpheus. How can you be sure I'm really the one you need?"

  


"It is instinct, nothing more. But I trust my instincts." We stopped outside of a warehouse that had been abandoned for years–I think it used to make paperclips. "Come with me."

I followed him into the dusty old warehouse, entirely empty save for a few crates piled in a corner. We went to these and each took a seat on one, facing each other. Morpheus reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a small, silver pillbox, placing it between us.

  


"I told you, Trinity, that the next time we met you would have a choice to make."

  


I tensed at his words, instinctively aware that I had reached some sort of crossroads in my life. A fork in the path, so to speak. Whichever way I turned, there would be no going back.

  


"This is your choice, Trinity. You can choose to forget about me and everything I've told you, and go back to the life you led before you met. Or you can let me show you the world as it truly is, and discover exactly who you are." He opened the box, revealing two large pills–one red, one blue. "Take the blue pill and you stay in the dreamworld. Take the red pill, and you awaken."

  


I stared at the box, acutely aware of my fear of the red pill. It represented everything unknown to me, the prospect of a new life, but no guarantee of happiness. Yet I also knew what the blue pill represented–a road that could only lead the one end.

  


Morpheus gazed levelly into my eyes. "You must choose your own path, Trinity. Do what you believe is right."

  


He knew. He had experienced it, too–the uncertainty, the fear. I knew nothing of what lay before me, but I did know this–I trusted him. The idea of being so close to anyone had once been inconceivable, yet this man, whom I barely knew, held all my trusts, hopes, and dreams in his hands.

  


Before Zion, before the oracle, before Neo, there was Morpheus. He was my salvation.

  


I reached for the box on the crate and chose a pill.

  


End

  


***

  


Genesis © 2003 to C.F. No part of this production may be used in any way without the author's express permission.

  


***

  


Preview of Genesis Part II

  


_Trinity battles the demons of her past while adjusting to a new life in a new world. When the life of someone close to her is threatened, she must somehow overcome all odds and expectations to protect those around her and herself._


End file.
